One Dollar for 99 Years: Israel Grants the US a Plot of Confiscated Palestinian Land to Build Its Embassy in Jerusalem

Israel granted the United States a parcel of land previously owned by Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem for one dollar, under an agreement signed on Wednesday, to establish the permanent site of the U.S. embassy in the city, a move Israel said reflects the “close alliance” between the two sides.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee signed an agreement designating the land for the construction of the permanent U.S. embassy complex in Jerusalem, according to a statement from the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The statement said the agreement marks the beginning of the U.S. embassy’s relocation from its current headquarters to its new permanent location in Jerusalem.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry described the step as a continuation of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2017 decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the embassy there.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Sa’ar called Trump’s historic decision to relocate the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem “historical justice,” and said that with the signing of the agreement to begin construction of the permanent embassy headquarters in the Lavanbi complex in southern Jerusalem, “this step will be firmly entrenched for future generations.”

Huckabee said the lease spans 99 years for one dollar, describing the new complex as strengthening the U.S. presence in Jerusalem and reiterating his characterization of the city as “Israel’s eternal capital.”

After occupying East Jerusalem during the 1967 war, Israel declared the city its unified capital, a declaration that has not received international recognition.

In December 2017, President Trump announced the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and decided to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to the city, preceding the opening of the embassy’s temporary headquarters in May 2018. This move drew widespread international criticism at the time as contrary to the international consensus on the status of Jerusalem.

In 2022, the Israeli human rights organization Adalah stated that the land designated for the embassy complex had been confiscated from Palestinians using the Absentee Property Law of 1950, asserting that archival documents prove ownership by Palestinian families prior to 1948 and that the land had been leased to the British Mandate authorities.

The United Nations considers East Jerusalem part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 and maintains that any measures aimed at altering the character or status of the city have no legal validity under international law.